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saabrian

Listed below are comments made by saabrian between Wednesday, 6th August 2008 and Thursday, 12th November 2009.

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Football's forgotten superstar 2:11pm on 12 Nov 2009 It's ironic. I believe he received offers from giant clubs like Inter Milan when he was really young but he and his mom decided on DC United because he thought it would be less pressure. Obviously the atmosphere at Inter would've been more cut-throat but there he would've been just one more young teen trying to make an impact instead of a 16 year old trying to carry a fledgling league on his back.

I think his development was held back in key years, not so much by MLS but by the particular managers in question. Peter Nowak (at DCU) is a very rigid, discipline oriented manager, ironic since he was a great playmaker in his playing days. John Ellinger (at Salt Lake) is just very uninspiring and his teams typically play overly direct and not especially technical soccer. Further adding to the misfit is that both Ellinger (U17) and Nowak (U23) have also been in charge of US youth national teams that Adu has been a part of. Sadly senior team US boss Bob Bradley is the same way, at least at the international level.

I'm not quite sure why he's struggled to make an impact in Europe, especially in a technical league like Portugal. But at the same time, he is only 20 so it's not like his career is over yet.
All divers should be punished 2:15pm on 05 Sep 2009 Typical English rubbish. Hulking, talent-free center halves can put rugby tackle forwards (it's amazing that more forwards don't emerge from corners without a jersey for all the grabbing that goes on) with complete impunity and that sort of naked cheating is "manly." But someone falls to the ground after such an assault and he should be banned for life. Bloody hypocrites!
Improving football for kids 1:00pm on 26 Feb 2009 We have the same problem here in the United States. From interviews and articles I've read, it seems that head honchos at both the FA and the US Federation understand and emphasize the importance of small sided games, especially at the younger age levels. Yet there seems to be huge resistance at the grassroots where adults are under the delusion that 8 and 11 year olds with short legs can pass and move like Arsenal or Barcelona on an adult sized pitch. As usual, it's the adults mucking things up.
What's gone wrong at Charlton? 11:22pm on 20 Feb 2009 The analogy to Martin O'Neill is appropriate. Leicester imploded immediately after O'Neill's departure and have had an interminable managerial merry-go-round in much the same way Charlton did after Curbs left.
Should there be a winter break? 1:10pm on 08 Jan 2009 A break isn't really feasible because the England hasn't cut the size of the lower divisions like other European countries. Therefore, Football League teams play EIGHT extra league matches compared to Premier League clubs. Plus, they play extra early round ties in the FA and League Cups. Combine that with playoffs and an FL club might play as many as 15 more matches than a non-European PL club that goes the same distance in domestic cups. How do you squeeze in fifteen extra matches with a winter break?
In defence of Brazilian goalkeepers 2:09pm on 17 Nov 2008 The reason Brazilian keepers do better in Italy than England is because Italian clubs play better defense. Young English keepers are developed in a run-and-gun atmosphere so they're used to it by the time they reach the highest level. That's why most of the Prem sides have British, American and Australian #1s while most of the foreign #1s are in the Big Four (three of whom play defense).
Coming to Maradona's defence 7:04pm on 03 Nov 2008 There is something very English about the idea that a defender cheating (shirt pulling, dirty tackles, elbows) is not only fine, but is referred to with admirable terms like 'getting stuck in' or 'sophisticated' but an attacker cheating (diving, mainly) deserves him being publicly stoned to death.

Maradona was a cheat. But the hypocrisy is not giving the same label to those who fouled him every 6.2 seconds.
Something new 7:01pm on 02 Oct 2008 What is the difference between this new program and BBC World News America?
First anniversary 2:42pm on 01 Oct 2008 Thanks for this program. It's far and away the best journalism available on American television screens.
To cover or not to cover 4:57pm on 06 Aug 2008 Please continue to ignore these pointless non-stories. If Americans want this sort of 'cotton candy journalism,' there are plenty of pseudo-news outlets we can tune in to. Most of us who watch BBC WNA do so because we want the real news we don't get elsewhere... at least not on the television.

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